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Should I repeat the 10th grade?

Hey everyone, I am a 10th grader in highschool. I am a straight A student. I have had straight As through out my middle and highschool years. I am looking to go to a big college and hopefully work hard and be successfull in life. However, this year, my 10th grade year, I was badly influenced by a friend and ended up doing something that got be suspended from school the last week. And my school dosen't let me make up the missed grades. Right now, I have all Bs in each class and I believe my average for the year is lower B or middle B range. (3.2-3.6) However, this is not how me or my family planned or thought I would end up doing and being in this situation. So, we are wondering what we can do to make this situation least disastrous as possible. I am definitley transferring to another school next year, but my question is, should i repeat the 10th grade to protect and retain an all A average? Will the B grades still be there if I repeat the 10th grade and get all As? My grades and future are very important to me and my family, so this is the reason we would like to repeat the grade to maintain an all As position. So please help. We are thinking maybe homeschooling. Then maybe I could catch up and try to finish 2 grades in one school years time. I am very smart but just made a bad desicion and got influenced by a friend. Please help. Will transferring and reapeating the 10th grade wipe out the previous B average and replace with my new hopful A average? What will be the pros and cons of repeating the grade? What will happen if I switch schools and repeat the 10th grade? We are really lost and could use any guidance or help or suggestions. Please also reccommed anything you think would be better, or any better plan. Thank you for your time. By the way, my school is almost over so extra credit or help won't be that effective.

If you are wondering about any additional details or info, please ask and I will give ASAP.

Replies to: Should I repeat the 10th grade?

Okay, why do you think I should? Will it make a big differnec in the long run? Will I be able to keep a 4.0 GPA after repeating the grade? Will the grades still be on the transcript? Please be more detailed in your answer and to which question you are answering. Thank you.

I'd be interested in hearing the opinion from someone who works in admissions.

I'd think the B's won't go away, as you'd be required to have all grades from your high school career included. And there is no way to get a transcript for 9th grade without the school sending the 10th grade scores. But maybe I'm wrong?

You will need to send your full transcript from the first high school. You can't make those Bs go away. Sorry.

But honestly, you are panicking about nothing. If indeed you have two semesters with a 4.0 in 9th grade, one semester with a 4.0 in 10th grade, and one semester with a 3.0, then your GPA is now about a 3.75, which is nothing to sneer at. If you manage a 4.0 for each semester your junior year, you will end up that year with a 3.83. A 3.75 plus good ACT/SAT scores will give you lots of options, and a 3.83 will give you a few more. Depending on your exam scores, you would be competitive for serious merit-based aid.

It makes absolutely no sense whatsoever to repeat 10th grade just so you can raise one semester's worth of Bs to As. Transfer to that new school for 11th grade, and get on with your life.

Thanks for the great info guys. For happymomof1, okay but that would be my weighted average. For unweighted I have two C+, one B-, and one A-. I just think that if this is really going to effect my future and GPA then maybe I should try to atleast repeat the courses with lowest grades so that maybe my school can count the new grade for my GPA instead of the old one. But anyways, I am going to do dual enrollment next year, and I will have to take most of the same courses that I did bad in this semester, but instead at a college level. So do you think that if I do well in these college courses, that colleges may over look the bad grade in the same course, and instead see my improvement? I just know my GPA is pretty badly effected and that is the main reason I feel that I need to repeat these courses and/or the 10th grade year. I am willing to repeat if I can help it have a less or a negative effect on my future. Is there anything you would suggest I do? Thanks.

For Momma J, actually there at boarding schools in my state that allow kids to come there and re-do a grade. (for maturity or grade failure) I don't know too much info on these school, because I just found out about it yesteday.

If anyone with admissions experience who has any suggestions or advice please give.

In order to have a grade replaced, you would need to repeat the course at the high school (or at least within the school district) where you initially took it. I don't know of a single high school that would let you repeat a course that you had a C in. I have only heard of this in cases where a student has actually failed a course. Don't waste your time trying to replace your C+ grades. Take the next courses in the sequences, or take different courses that you can do well in. Dual-enrollment is a good plan because it shows that you are capable of higher-level work.

But the real question is: Why do you think that two C+ grades in 10th grade will ruin your future? Is your family so very messed up financially that they can't help you pay for your education? Then, take a look at this list and see if anything might suit you: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/848226-important-links-automatic-guaranteed-merit-scholarships.html
Do you and your family believe that you absolutely must attend fill-in-name-of-famous-university-or-college-here? Then it is time to read through all of the threads started back in April with titles like "What is wrong with me? I had perfect grades and test scores and I still didn't get into fill-in-name-of-famous-university-or-college-here". Lots of people didn't get in where they wanted and/or expected. That is just part of the nature of admissions. If you do well next two year, this blip in your academic record will indeed be interpreted as a blip, and it will not cause problems for you.

Haha, happymomof1, you are a very smart person. No, my family is not in finacial ruins, but yes, we feel I must go to a great/famous university to become the best and most sucessful peson that I can be. Grades and SAT scores are EXTREMELY IMPORTANT to my family, (I am asian) haha, and my dad and mom believe it is crucial that I get the best grades possible to I will be able to get into a great college. I just hate that I have kept great grades and worked so hard up to this point, just to get a C grade for a stupid mistake, you know? I just feel like this will affect the rest of my life. I know, i have read through some of those threads and understand the unpredictiable ways of college admission. it's just I know i am capable of getting close to 100 average in both of those courses, ( i had a 100 in every class before the incident) and it's just dissapointing that I am in this situation. I am kind of lost because I feel like my future is not looking as great know. But learned many lessons from this situation and it has helped me mature. But I just feel like I would do anything to get those grades back because I had and truly earned a 100 in those classes. Please continue to talk and advise me as it helps tremendosly and can lead me to a better situation.

another thing, other students who don't have this "blip" will be more qualified than me, won't they? Or perhaps I can use this situation to my advantage as a good essay writing to show i have learned from my mistakes and am able to work under pressure and get myself out of a bad situation and make it better? I don't really know what to think right now. I'm just distressed. I'm just worried about my future. Thanks for all you help. Please continue to write. Or maybe (happymomof1), you will give me your email address so we can talk more. Thanks for everything so far.

If your parents are the immigrant generation, then it may be very hard for them to overcome their belief that the label on the university matters. That is because in the "old country" if you got X instead of X+1 in your secondary school grades your life choices were severely limited. Chances are that while they got at least X+1, which put them on the path that landed them in their lives in the US, they have friends and family who got X or even X-1 or X-2 who are trapped in near-poverty back in a village in Asia.

What immigrant generation parents seem to forget, is that they came to the US because they believed that they could re-invent themselves here. This is the country of re-invention. It is indeed entirely possible to finish high school with a lousy academic record, turn yourself around at a community college, transfer to an IVY, get into Med/Dent/Law/Grad School, and go on to have what the friends and family back in the old country would consider to be a great life. It is not necessary to get it right the first time.

What any given admissions committee will make of your academic blip is up to them. Some will like you better for it. Some will use that fractional difference in GPA between you and Flawless-Record-Student as a reason to toss your file into the reject bin. You can make yourself sick with worry about the latter kind of admissions officer, or you can kick your fear-demons into the corner, and concentrate on moving forward. Actually, kicking them into the corner will probably have to be repeated periodically, but you will get better at that over time.

This unfortunate semester has taught you a lot about yourself, and about life. You are lucky to have had this experience now, rather than later on. Try thinking of it that way. In the long run, you are going to turn out just fine.

Thanks you so much for the helpful info. Is there any other advice or suggestions you have to help this situation go along more smoothly or help to it lessen it's effects such as good suggestions for ECs or other helpful ideas for college admission? Also, is there any other advice you have for me and my parents to help us continue to stay focused on the future and not feel like this is the end? Thanks, happymom.

I'm wondering if someone in college admissions would think taking a class over that you passed (with a B or C) would actually count against you more than just leaving the B or C. If I was a college officer I'd worry that if I accepted that student they'd be enrolled at my university forever, taking classes over and over until they got A's, and I would not look on it favorably. But take that with a huge grain of salt, I don't work in college admissions.

Why repeat a grade when you passed it no problem? I doubt this will have much of an effect on admissions, but if you don't get into the school you want you can always go to another school and do well there then transfer and you will not have basically wasted a year.

When you apply for college they will notice and take into consideration that you've repeated 10th grade twice. They might view this negatively and think you aren't a reliable "smart" student. Yet they might also see that you made a mistake and are willing to do anything to correct it.
I would call your college preference and ask what they would think about the situation.

UCDavis, I understand where you are coming from. My parents and I are thinking the same thing, and trying to see which path would be the most effective. I understand that college admission people are very unpredictable so I understand that any different people would look at it different ways. Thank you for your input. Any other advice you have would be great.

Ziggy, thank you for this info! I have looked at the aspects of transferring and I can see that this would be a great plan B. Thank you for your info, and any other advice or input that you can give me would be great.

Victoria, that is great idea. This weekend I am planning to contact the admissions offices of a few of my most desired universities to get their input on this situation. I understand that college admission is very unpredictable, and I thank you for the input you have given me. Please tell me the benefit that you see in summer school and or the pros and cons. I guess I will have to talk to my school about the benefits also, but please just let me know what you think.

One of the very best resources for you in this process is the guidance office staff at your soon-to-be-former school, and the guidance office staff at your soon-to-be-new school. Collectively, these people probably have several centuries worth of experience helping young people get their lives in order. There are few stories that none of them have heard before. There is every chance that they can help you sort through this particular issue. You do not have to re-invent this particular wheel. Why don't you just pick up the phone, make an appointment with your old guidance counselor, and ask for his/her candid advice given your situation?

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